Everyone In Town Thinks My Friend’s Dad Is A Monster. I Just Found Out The Real Monster Is His Mother, And Now She’s Coming For Me. How Do I Stop Her?

Trapped

At home I told Dad everything. He immediately called a lawyer friend but the news wasn’t good. With Catherine’s new accusation, Brian’s dad would likely be held at least overnight. And with existing custody orders, Catherine had every right to take Brian.

“We need those threats she sent,” Dad said. “They show she’s been planning this.”

But when I checked my hidden phone, the messages were gone. Somehow she’d remotely deleted them. I still had the screenshots on my email, but would anyone believe they were real?

That night I lay awake thinking about Brian in that house with her. Was she hurting him? Was he okay?

Tuesday morning Brian wasn’t at school. I overheard teachers saying Catherine had called to say he was traumatized and needed time to readjust. I knew better. She was keeping him prisoner. During lunch, I snuck out. I know I’d promised Dad not to be reckless, but I couldn’t leave Brian there.

I ran the eight blocks to Catherine’s house. The curtains were drawn but I could hear shouting inside, then a crash, then Brian’s voice, high and scared.

“Please Mom! I’m sorry!”

I called 911 from my hidden phone.

“I think someone’s being hurt at 438 Maple Street. I can hear screaming and things breaking.”

I waited behind a tree until the police arrived. They knocked and Catherine answered, looking perfectly composed.

“Officers? Is something wrong?”

“We received a call about a disturbance.”

“Oh, that must have been the TV. I was watching an action movie. Sorry if it was too loud.”

They bought it. They actually bought it. I wanted to scream that Brian was in there, probably hurt, but I knew they’d just call my parents.

After they left, Catherine stepped onto her porch and looked directly at where I was hiding.

“I know you’re there,” she called sweetly. “Brian wants to tell you something.”

Brian appeared in the doorway. Even from a distance I could see the red mark on his cheek.

“Stop trying to help,” he said woodenly. “You’re making everything worse. Just leave us alone.”

Catherine’s hand was on his shoulder, squeezing. He was reading from a script.

Going Viral

I ran back to school, arriving just as lunch ended. My teacher marked me tardy but I didn’t care. I had to do something. That afternoon I made a decision. If the adults wouldn’t listen to evidence, maybe they’d listen to Brian himself.

I started recording videos on my hidden phone, documenting everything: the dates, the timeline, the threats I’d screenshot before they were deleted.

“My name is [Narrator],” I began, “and I’m about to tell you the truth about Katherine Davidson.”

I uploaded it to YouTube that night, then shared the link anonymously in the parent Facebook group. Within an hour it had 50 views, then 100. Then Mom burst into my room.

“What have you done?”

The video was already being discussed in the group. Some parents were calling me a liar, but others were asking questions.

“Why would a 12-year-old make this up? What did he have to gain?”

“You’re grounded indefinitely,” Mom said. “No school, no leaving the house, nothing until you take that video down.”

“Excuse me?” I said. “No. Ground me forever if you want, but that video stays up.”

Dad appeared in the doorway.

“Janet, have you watched it?”

“I don’t need to watch lies about that poor woman.”

“I watched it,” Dad said quietly. “And I think we need to consider that our son might be telling the truth.”

They argued for an hour. Mom accused Dad of enabling my delusions. Dad pointed out the evidence I presented. Finally Mom stormed out, saying she was staying at her sister’s until this family came to its senses.